UCLA returns to establishing ground game

EUGENE – A week ago, after UCLA had given up on its run game against Stanford’s physical front and left its young offensive line out to dry, Bruins offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone put the blame on himself.

“What I should’ve done is run the football a little more and let those young (linemen) get their feet under them a little bit,” Mazzone said after last week's 24-10 loss.

With three freshmen on the offensive line and their quarterback struggling, the Bruins leaned on their stable of backs to do the heavy lifting this time around, nearly matching their 27 carries from a week earlier in just one half against No. 2 Oregon. No. 12 UCLA rushed 26 times in the first two quarters and finished with 52 rushes for 248 yards.

Filling in for starter Jordon James for the third week in a row, redshirt freshman Paul Perkins found the room in Eugene that he couldn’t find last week, rumbling for 99 hard-fought yards on 22 carries. He routinely broke tackles and carried defenders, giving UCLA the physical rushing attack that it lacked in its last two games, when it failed to manage even 80 total yards on the ground.

“We knew that we needed to establish a run in order to get our passing game going,” center Jake Brendel said.

But an effective run game could only do so much, as UCLA’s pass game couldn’t back up its run-first approach. Without any threat of the downfield pass, Oregon pulled away with ease late to win, 42-14.

“I thought our backs did a nice job running the football,” Mazzone said, “but we’re pretty talented at receiver, and we need to get those guys involved in the game plan.”

Offensive balance was UCLA’s calling card at the beginning of the season. But as the offense has screeched to a halt, either running or passing the ball, over the past two weeks, Mazzone reiterated that his offense desperately needs to improve.

“I’m not happy at all,” Mazzone continued. “At the end of the day, you have to have more points than the other guy, and we didn’t score enough points. The last two weeks, we haven’t gotten the ball in the end zone. That’s our job.”

FRESHMEN TRIO

Playing three freshmen on its offensive line was supposed to be a death sentence for UCLA’s offense.

But while the Bruins’ passing game failed to get anything going throughout Saturday’s loss, those struggles weren’t a result of the team’s youthful offensive front.

“My general initial impresssion,” UCLA coach Jim Mora said, “is when you start three true freshmen on the offensive line and have some success like we did initially tonight, that’s probably a positive.”

Freshman guard Scott Quessenberry, who started for the first time in his collegiate career, was actually one of the offense’s bright spots.

“He did a really great job,” Brendel said. “He came in as a center, so he was making all the calls that I couldn’t see. So as a freshman – as just a player, really – he did a good job.”

PUNTING IS WINNING

With a 7-0 lead and Oregon stopped in its own territory, the start that UCLA had dreamed of looked like it would be a reality. Until a first-quarter punt – or a fake punt, to be exact – flipped the game’s momentum on its head.

Oregon’s Rodney Hardrick took the fake punt up the middle of the field for 66 yards into UCLA territory. Two plays later, Oregon was on the board and a key opportunity was missed.

But it wouldn’t be the game’s last big play on special teams. Midway through the second quarter, freshman linebacker Myles Jack burst through Oregon’s punt team unprotected, blocking a punt that resulted in UCLA’s second and final score of the game.

“I came through a little bit too free,” Jack said. “I thought I was going to get kicked in the stomach.”